WWF marks with great sadness the passing of a founding leader, Aileen Bowdoin Train
Published by the World Wildlife Fund
WWF marks with great sadness the passing of a founding leader and dear friend, Aileen Bowdoin Train, who died peacefully Friday morning in her home in Florida.
Aileen was an early champion of conservation, serving on the boards of WWF-US in Washington, DC; and WWF-International in Gland, Switzerland; the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; and the Wildfowl Trust of North America. For many years, she also chaired the board of the Nature Conservancy of Maryland and was a founder and chair of the environmental organization Concern, Inc. Aileen was also on the board of the Summit Fund, the Corcoran Gallery and the Foxcroft School.
Aileen was a passionate believer in public service. Following college, she served as a nurse’s aide at Walter Reed Hospital and was for many years a volunteer at Planned Parenthood.
Inspired by a safari in Kenya in 1956 with her husband, Russell Train, Aileen became a committed force for conservation and the protection of wildlife and wild places around the world. As key figures in the founding of WWF in the United States, Aileen and Russ sought to bring others into nature, to introduce them, firsthand, to the wonders of biodiversity and the natural world. Their vision was both local and global, advocating for local protection of land, air and water, but always with a profound understanding of conservation as an international imperative, linking people across the world.
Aileen was gracious, forthright, and industrious. She brought extraordinary drive and spirit to all she did. On trips into the wild, she was the first to pull on boots and wade in the muck behind the scientists. And whether in Namibia, or Bhutan, or her beloved farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Aileen was always prepared to dedicate her time, talent and wisdom to ensuring that the wonder of natural places would remain for generations to follow. To her children, Nancy, Emily, Bowdoin and Errol, and her beloved grandchildren, we express our deepest condolences, as well as our gratitude for their mother’s remarkable life of service and her indelible legacy of leadership in protecting the planet we all share.
Read the full article at: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WWFStories/~3/B2SjfXlvWGU/wwf-marks-with-great-sadness-the-passing-of-a-founding-leader-aileen-bowdoin-train
